From manual processes and printing, via a 3PL, and finally to warehouse bliss. Getting fulfilment right every time has been a journey of discovery for the Australian fashion brand, as it is for so many growing companies.
Mister Zimi was created by husband and wife team Zoe and Jimi Paul just over 10 years ago. They designed a label that champions the easy-going aesthetic. It all began in Bali, but since the company has grown and expanded, the team now reside in Byron Bay. The style is inspired by the 70s, with patterns and prints from different locations and cultures around the world. Mister Zimi offers versatile and trans-seasonal dressing that asserts ‘summer is in style all year round.’
The unique Australian brand quickly grew in popularity. What started as a production of two collections per year (winter and summer) quickly increased to seven annual collections. This growth resulted in the opening of multiple brick-and-mortar stores on the East Coast of Australia and a transition into a custom, modern office space in Melbourne, ten times larger than their original HQ.
Mister Zimi had never previously used a WMS. With a popular e-commerce presence, all orders were being processed through Shopify and shipping provider Starshipit, with the addition of the Stocky app for some inventory management. However, this had always been a headache, especially during busier periods. All the orders were printed onto paper picklists, inventory control was impossible and inaccurate, and major inefficiencies affected every step of the fulfilment chain.
At the beginning of 2019, the team moved from a small two-story warehouse which was on top of a shop on a main road, to a new premise that was x10 the size. With all the stock being moved, Mister Zimi's warehouse team initially decided to take on the services of a 3PL, without any prior knowledge or experience of the type of technology available for them to use and maintain control themselves.
This loss of control was an immediate extra pain to the business, just when they thought they’d be moving on from fulfilment headaches. The process of passing on inventory control, and even the handling of the orders themselves as they came in through Shopify, was extremely challenging, and not up to the standards or ease they were expecting.
Leading shipping platform for Australia and New Zealand Starshipit recommended that Mister Zimi evaluate the Peoplevox warehouse management system, having decided to commit to the challenge of taking back control of their fulfilment, move away from the 3PL, and invest in their own, in-house technology.
In terms of key business goals, Mister Zimi identified a need for:
There was one other major factor during this consideration stage. The business had a hard deadline of 6 weeks for the go-live, and needed a system to be up and running within that timeframe.
After an intense 5 week implementation and onboarding process, Mister Zimi went live with Peoplevox in September 2019, and haven’t looked back.
.png?width=2000&name=Mister%20Zimi%20tech%20stack%20(1).png)
The Byron Bay multi-channel retailer has seen a dramatic overhaul in its order fulfilment.
These changes have had a direct impact on Mister Zimi’s relationship with its customers. They now receive many compliments and five-star reviews, on how quickly orders are being processed and received.
Collection launches are the busiest times for the brand. Prior to Peoplevox, Mister Zimi suffered from delays and frustrated customers during these times. Successfully negating these was a crucial element of the business case for implementing the WMS.
“Peoplevox has allowed us to use our space more efficiently. Previously there was no method to the madness but now we have great logic with the system. “
Moreover, fulfilment accuracy for online orders has tightened considerably. Mister Zimi’s paper printing and the ensuing human error are now a distant memory. The system has also allowed the brand to fast-track orders for specific customers (in the case that customer needs the item urgently for example), as well as edit or cancel orders prior to despatch. This adds great value to the overall shopping experience. Finally, Mister Zimi have taken great pride in processing an order before the midday, even if it comes in at 11:59am.
“As a company who is growing every day, Peoplevox helps us achieve more and more with each and every season”
Across the busy December period, Peoplevox enabled Mister Zimi to despatch more orders than “we ever thought possible” and broke all existing records. Having been well aware of the potential for issues and delays at Peak, and suffered at the hands of their growing demand over the last few years, collection launches are now seen as a great chance to grow the business further, with a system in place to handle ever-increasing demand and volume. With five retail stores across East Coast Australia alongside a flourishing e-commerce site, the future is exceptionally bright for Mister Zimi.
